First Whipper-in. 133 



are not so accurate as they were before a great many pages 

 were torn out, or destroyed, long ago, as my wife used to 

 give them to the children to play with when they were 

 " brats," and they made use of them as targets for anything 

 handy. We met at Old-acres, and found a brace or a leash 

 of foxes in Old-acres plantation ; five or six couple of 

 hounds went to the right for Butterwick, and then into 

 Wynyard, where they pressed their fox so much that he ran 

 against some wire and was killed; the body of the hounds 

 getting well away with a good game and bold fox, led us a 

 merry dance to Bog Hall, through it and away, pointing for 

 Whitton by Lea Close, through Woogrey plantation, and 

 over the Little Stainton country, leaving Fox Hill on the 

 right ; then made a turn to the left, and crossed the road 

 between Bishopton village and Woogrey, leaving Lea Close 

 on the left, and running right up to Elstob, where we un- 

 doubtedly changed foxes ; Claxon maintaining that the run 

 fox had laid down in the covert. No doubt he was right, 

 but there was so much " hollering " all round, especially on the 

 part of Mr. W. Stephenson, who thought that he had viewed 

 the hunted fox, that hounds got their heads up and went 

 away for Carlton, where Claxon stopped them near the 

 Iron Works, and not far from the earths, at about half-past 

 three, or barely so late, though it was getting darkish at 

 the time. We found the first foxes a few minutes after 

 11 o'clock, meeting at 10-45, and left the last say at 3-20, 

 running hard all the time ; a terribly severe day for horses 

 and hounds. At the finish, only Claxon, Mr. and Mrs. 

 Cuthbert Johnson, and myself, were left with hounds, the 

 majority of the " field " dropping out during the early part 

 of the run, in fact mostly before we reached Fox Hill, as 

 the country rode awfully deep; the best part of the run 



